London Trip 2015

30th June 2015

London 2015 - DAY ONE - 30th JUNE

After arriving on time to the station and successfully boarding the train, we had a good journey to London Paddington. We were so good in fact that a retired teacher who was also in are train carriage complimented the children on how well behaved they were.

The tube was hot but quiet – we even got seats! The children managed the boarding and disembarking very well, especially as for some children, it was their first time.

We went to the Her Majesties fortress and palace the Tower of London (its correct name) where we meet our tour guide, Heather. First she asked Mrs Harris if we wanted the sensible tour or the gruesome tour – gruesome it was and the children loved it! She showed us round the grounds and told us some interesting, grizzly stories. Heather was so impressed with us that she took us for a walk along the Thames and showed us the monument to the Great fire of London – a freebie. She says we were one of the best groups ever.

The crown jewels were amazing - the diamonds are huge! We also went into the White tower and saw the suits of armour and weapons that belonged to the old kings -the children couldn’t believe the size of Henry VIII’s.

Having finished our tour we went back to the hostel and had our tea – this was fantastic and everyone ate well.  To finish off the day we had a short walk down to Blackfriars bridge, across and then back up to the Millennium bridge. Tomorrow is going to be really busy and HOT!  

 

London 2015 - DAY TWO - 1st JULY

This morning after our full English breakfast (that was the favourite meal so far) we caught the tube to South Kensington to go to the museums.

The first museum we visited was the natural history museum; visiting various galleries: dinosaurs, mammals, creepy crawlies, earthquakes and volcanoes! The children were ‘wowed’ by the blue whale, in awe of the dinosaurs and really appreciated the active displays. We ate in the school room at the bottom – it was nice and cool compared with an outside temperature of 34 degrees.

We ventured over to the science museum where Russian Cosmonaut ‘Yuri Gagarin’ gave us a talk on how he became the first man in space – a very interesting tale. Following this we went up to the ‘Launchpad’ show where we watched the ‘Stronger by design’ demonstration – looking at what gives strength to buildings and how the force of weight and impact are spread across larger areas. This was cleverly demonstrated to us by placing Mr Wilde in a sandwich – long story! Everyone enjoyed the hands on launch pad area –we have some great photos!  

The children are becoming ‘pros’ on the tube and we are very thankful for the Hi-Vis jackets –these are a fantastic way of ensuring we have every child.

After tea we went out to explore the area around our hostel. We were following a treasure trail and we were finding clues. Unfortunately we had to cut it short (it was still too hot) but on the upside we had ice cream in front of St Paul’s cathedral-a much needed treat after a long day.

It has been incredibly hot! But the children have handled it well. We are keeping hydrated! Tomorrow should be slightly cooler. We are off to the Imperial War museum.